What would/could you do with 5GB of free storage?

Every month it seems someone is adding free cloud / online storage with their product or service these days. Here is just a taste of headlines from the past few months.

• Microsoft Takes On Dropbox With SkyDrive For Windows, Mac and iOS
• Sony planning to launch 5GB, cloud-based photo sharing service
• Google Drive Said To Launch Next Week, With 5GB Of Free Storage For All
• LogMeIn branches out from its remote desktop roots, intros Cubby cloud sharing service
• IDrive Connect offers Google Docs access via virtual folder on your Windows machine
• Dropbox offers up to 5GB of free space to anyone willing to go beta
• Pogoplug Cloud offers 5GB of free mobile storage, a home for your Beatles collection

The most common capacity point is 5GB, begging the question, what would / could you do with 5GB of free storage?

I guess it depends on the device.  Being an iPhone, Macbook, and iMac user, I take advantage of the 5GB of iCloud storage for sure, but I have not bit the bullet on upgrading to the capacity with Apple. Probably because I haven’t needed to yet. The way I use my devices and systems, the process by which I sync photos, music, apps, etc does not warrant it just yet. Perhaps someday it will.

If I look at all the free Gigabytes that I have at my disposal, I wonder if a change in how I do things is needed to at least take advantage of the freebie. But then again why change?  I am comfortable in my processes, how I do things.  At my disposal, I have:

• 5GB with Apple
• 2GB with Adobe
• 2GB with Dropbox
• and soon, 5GB with Google (G Drive)

I have not used Adobe’s 2GB, I use Dropbox on occasion, only when I need to share large files with co-workers or friends. I use Google Docs when I need to share a file that warrants collaboration by more than one other person.  I am looking into how I might take advantage of Google’s “G Drive”, or further take advantage of iCloud, but the more online storage I have to manage, the more I just scrap the idea and stick with my local storage for backup, and the “free” storage I get with Facebook, WordPress, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.

Utilizing all of this free storage comes down to a plan for how you are going to use it.  There is backup, which is always a safe path to take. Then there is sharing with friends and family, but I’ll continue to use Facebook (especially with Instagram) for photos, WordPress for blogs, YouTube for video, etc. Collaboration, I already use Google and I don’t see that changing.

So, free storage is a nice headline, but at the end of the day, if I don’t see the value in changing my behavior, I won’t get the value of the  Free Gigabytes. But, I guess that is what these companies are banking on.  The one that can change my behavior will ultimately win because I will quickly outgrow that free 5GB. They just haven’t convinced me yet., but Apple and Google are well on their way…

What about you…are you tired of the 5GB for free?  Does it do anything for you in terms of pushing you to buy that device or use that service?